COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has released body cam video which shows the chaotic moments when he says a suspect fired at one of his officers earlier this month.
Lott spoke Thursday afternoon where he walked through the video, played a 911 call, and gave his evaluation of the facts up to this point in the case.
The incident took place around 1:40 p.m. November 2 in the 2500 block of Marathon Drive, which is in a neighborhood just off Bluff Road south of Columbia.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott played a 911 call from a woman who said a man was firing a gun outside her home and knocking on her door. She gave officers a description of the suspect.
Lott said Deputy Josiah McComb responded and found a man matching the description standing beside car. According to Lott, when McComb pulled up the supsects, identified as 23-year-old Michael Jayvone Dennis, fired shots from a handgun at the deputy. Lott said Dennis also had a rifle but that weapon jammed.
McComb's vehicle was hit by gunfire, including a bullet that struck his computer inside the car, but he was not injured. Deputies said McComb, who was still in his vehicle, fired back at the suspect, wounding him in the arm.
"We're very lucky through the grace of God that the deputy did not get injured," Lott said.
Lott said Dennis then ran to an adjacent home and grabbed a woman there by the neck and tried to hold her hostage. The sheriff said the woman's husband and other deputies were able to get the gun away from Dennis, and Dennis was taken into custody.
The video shows some of that exchange, as the officer first is engaging with the suspect, then the husband, and another deputy gets involved. Lott praised the officer's professionalism.
The suspect was then taken to the hospital for treatment. He was released this week and is now at the Richland County jail.
Lott said he'd been arrested before the incident but was mistakenly released on a personal recognizance bond, rather than a surety bond. That means he did not have to pay money to be released, and also did not get the ankle monitor he was supposed to get.
The sheriff said Dennis then began to go to the community where this shooting happened and caused problems.
"He's just been a holy terror," Lott said. "He thought he owned that whole community."
Bond has been denied to Dennis on these latest charges.
Meanwhile, Lott said the investigation continues and the findings will be sent to the solicitor's office for a final review of the officer's actions.
